The present invention relates to a gas turbine combustor, particularly for an aircraft engine.
As is known, jet aircraft engines comprise a compressor; an expansion turbine; and a combustor interposed between the compressor and the turbine. The combustor comprises a combustion chamber communicating with the compressor outlet; and a turbine inlet chamber or conduit, along which, in use, flows relatively high-temperature gas generated inside the combustion chamber.
To reduce thermal stress caused by the high gas temperature, the inner walls defining the turbine inlet conduit and the combustion chamber must be cooled continually; for which purpose, the inner walls have a number of through holes, through which relatively low-temperature air flows crosswise to the inner walls into the conduit where it mixes directly with the gas flowing towards the turbine.
Known combustors of the above type are unsatisfactory by requiring a relatively large amount of air to cool the inner walls as required, and which is mainly due to inefficient heat exchange between the inner walls and the airflow through the holes formed in the inner walls.
Moreover, the holes produce stress concentrations in the material in which they are formed, and so tend to impair the mechanical strength of the inner walls of the combustor.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a gas turbine combustor, particularly for an aircraft engine, designed to provide a straightforward, low-cost solution to the above problems, and which in particular provides for improving heat exchange between the cooling air and the inner walls.
According to the present invention, there is provided a gas turbine combustor, in particular for an aircraft engine; the combustor comprising at least one chamber, through which combustion gas flows in use; at least one lateral wall defining said chamber; and channeling means associated with said lateral wall to permit the passage of a cooling fluid for cooling the lateral wall; and being characterized by also comprising guide means at least partly defining said channeling means to feed at least one stream of said cooling fluid into said chamber in a tangential direction with respect to said lateral wall.